Moments
by metafarcical
Summary: An intense short story telling the end of The Last Great Time War and the final minutes of the Eighth Doctor.


The deafening alarms of the Cloister Bell were ringing in his ears as the fatigued-looking Doctor raced around the TARDIS console, which was now flashing like a Christmas tree. To his deep frustration the time machine had to be piloted as a mere spacecraft due to a Temporal Desistance Wave being transmitted from the planet below, disabling all dematerialisation circuits within fifty million light years. The pilot, even with all his energy and genius, was struggling to manoeuvre his beloved blue box through the menagerie of warships in battle over the skies of Gallifrey. He was convinced that he would be dead had the TARDIS not inexplicably swerved out of the path of an oncoming Dalek missile. But now was no time to question a miracle. The Doctor stole a quick glance at a meter located above the viewscreen which displayed nine strange Gallifreyan symbols. The first five were identical; the others were changing from one obscure symbol to another in quick succession. He betrayed a brief moment of panic before returning to his frenzied console activities, muttering under his breath, "Not enough. There's not enough time."

With his right hand he then frantically typed co-ordinates into a computer interface and with his left hand stretching over to the opposite panel twisted a strange silvery luminous orb. The Doctor was almost too busy to make out a whirring sound emanating from the viewscreen. The image of a man in resplendent red robes gradually came into focus amongst the static.

"I command you to desist your actions at once Doctor!" growled the figure with barely-suppressed rage. "I will not allow you to put an end to millennia of Time Lord civilisation!"

"Even if I wanted to stop it I couldn't", replied the Doctor coolly, seemingly expecting the communication, as he made no effort to divert his attention away from his piloting duties, not even looking up to see whom he was addressing. "The Moment has been timed and deadlocked. There's nothing either of us can do now."

"Then you are a traitor! A killer of your own kind! You will have the blood of billions on your hands 'Doctor'!" He spat the last word out with such sarcastic spite as to give the impression that the syllables were poison to him.

"And you would have trillions!" the Doctor's previously cold tone faltered as he momentarily stopped what he was doing and shouted towards the viewscreen. "This is your doing Rassilon! This is what happens to civilisations which are so battle-weary, so bankrupt of good that they decide only they must remain. I've seen it before. MANY times. But I never expected it from my own people."

"Spare me your indignation. We are fulfilling the destiny of the Time Lords! You could have stood with us as a God. Instead you choose…"

The Doctor decided he had heard enough as he pressed a switch which left the viewscreen blank. Near the end of the brief and bitter conversation he had noticed that eight of the Gallifreyan symbols were now static and identical, with only one still spinning, undecided.

Any moment now the long and bloody struggle of the Time War will end, the Doctor thought. It won't end well. But it WILL end.

"It never should have come to this. Goodbye Gallifrey" the Doctor whispered, his eyes beginning to water.

Seconds later the last of the symbols came to a sudden stop as it resembled the other eight. Instantaneously a blinding white explosion of unimaginable force and speed bulged from the surface of Gallifrey and spread out through space in all directions. The orbiting Dalek and Time Lord warships were immediately decimated by the light. The TARDIS was well past them by now, but it hadn't been fast enough to escape impact entirely. The terrifying explosion of light struck the TARDIS with immense force and the Doctor lost his grip on the console and was flung against a pillar, knocked unconscious. The console room was ablaze with sparks and flames emitting from all areas. Laying against the pillar the newly-appointed Last of the Time Lords groggily came round and reached for the back of his head, finding a large bloody gash. The Doctor was lightheaded and felt like he could lose consciousness again at any second. He was tempted to just lay there and die, safe in the knowledge that the universe was safe and that he wasn't needed anymore. But for how long? No. He had to continue. There had to be a way to make up for this terrible crime. He knew what he had to do.

A look of deep concentration spread across his face and it began to glow bright gold. He stretched out his arms, which were also emitting the strange energy, and his entire body convulsed as long golden ribbons of light burst forth and he moaned in pain...


End file.
